Rangers are capable of having the highest accuracy of any combat type, boasting a maximum of +234 to Ranged attack, beating both Magic with a maximum of +152, and melee with a maximum of +170 to slash. For this reason, it is often used against monsters with very high Defence.

The combat triangle dictates that Rangers are strong against mages but weak against Melee fighters.

The ability to attack from a distance means that a player can safespot a melee monster while fighting from safety. Keep in mind that some melee monsters have high Ranged Defence, so a high Ranged level may be needed. Crossbows are useful against monsters with high Defence, as they are very accurate.

NOTE: In the case of crossbows and bows, the bows provide the Ranged Attack and the ammo provides Ranged Strength, while with darts and knives (where the ammo is the weapon) both stats are provided by the weapon. This is in contrast to the common misconception that the higher arrows (and bolts) are no better to use than the lower ones.

The rapid combat stance gives the fastest attack speed of all three stances while having a lower maximum hit compared to the accurate or long range stances, which have a higher maximum hit. The accurate stance treats your ranged level as if it were 3 higher than it really is, the long range stance increases ranged by 1, while the rapid stance does not boost ranged at all. However, the accurate and long range stances have slower attack speeds. Also, the long range stance gives Defenceexperience, and as the name suggests, has a longer reach.

These bows both fire the same arrows, differing in speed and range, but not in damage or accuracy. Longbows could be used for additional range, but are slower than shortbows on rapid. The magic shortbow has a special attack which hits twice, and the magic longbow has a special attack which boosts accuracy.

Crossbows are very accurate, and crossbow bolts deal significantly more damage than arrows, making crossbows effective for training Ranged. Crossbows are slower than standard bows, but are also one-handed, so a shield or prayer book can be used for protection.

Despite being a crossbow, it is more like a shortbow, requiring two hands and having a fast attack speed, along with longer range. Karil's crossbow will only work with bolt racks, which break when fired, making it expensive to use. This weapon should only be used against the TzTok-Jad and players, as everything else can be done more cheaply.

The dark bow is the slowest weapon in the game, but it fires two arrows at once. It can fire dragon arrows, and it has a devastating special attack which boosts damage by 30% if using arrows that are not dragon, or by 50% if using dragon arrows, with a minimum damage of 5 per non-dragon arrow and 8 per dragon arrow.

The toxic blowpipe is a powerful ranged weapon that uses darts and Zulrah's scales for ammunition. Against monsters, it has the same speed as darts/knives, but against players, it has the same attack speed as shortbows. Additionally, the toxic blowpipe can inflict targets with venom, which deals increasing damage over time.

The dwarf multicannon is a supplementary weapon that is set up by the player and attacks enemies on its own. There is no Ranged level requirement to use it. It is fast and powerful (with a max hit of 30), yet expensive to use, and there are a limited number of areas where it can be set up for usage. For example, it cannot be used against bosses except the Corporeal Beast. Nonetheless, it's useful and great to have on board, especially on certain Slayer assignments (e.g. Lighthouse dagannoths).

Upon completing any of the following quests, players may choose to allocate experience to Ranged. These rewards usually come in the form of items, such as lamps or books, and are independent of any experience rewards directly received for completing the quest.